A Place For My Head
by lightblue-Nymphadora
Summary: Sequel to Breaking the Habit. Now that Draco's free, he's on the trio's side for good. But what should he do when few trust him, and he doesn't know who to trust? Harry/Ron, Draco/Hermione, Ginny/Tonks
1. Male Bonding

_**LbN: It's back! APFMH has returned! Lol, I was looking through my fan fic files and decided to read all of my "dead end" fics. I couldn't stay away from this one. Especially since I'd gotten so far on it. A few things will be tweaked :). Happy reading!  
**_

Draco stared at the ceiling, trying hard to get his mind around the past week. Well, the past year, actually. For the past week, he had been shuffled around to Order member after Order member. They were trying to throw any tailing Death Eaters off of them before brining him here, the Burrow. He remembered each of the houses:

_"Hello Mr. Shaklebolt," the Slytherin said, head bent._

_ "It's alright, Draco. Please call me Kinglsey," came the reply._

That conversation was Draco's most vivid memory of the house exchange, because it gave him hope that they wouldn't still hate him. They had gotten on well. He was a good bloke, Kingsley. He's not one to hold a grudge because of family members. Hestia Jones was a whole different story. Draco was pretty sure the only reason she agreed to keep him for the two days was that Potter asked her personally. It wasn't horrible though; she was cold, but she fed him well. Possibly the best, and worst, house was Tonks's. She was wonderful to him; happy to have a new "family convert" staying with her. What went wrong was on Draco's first night there:

_Draco rolled out of bed and looked at the clock. 11:30. He was thirsty. He walked quietly to the kitchen, so as to not wake Tonks up. When he got to the doorway, he stopped. Because Tonks was already up. Up and making out in the kitchen with someone. A girl, redheaded someone…_

"Weasley," he thought.

He was scarred for life. Not because he was at all homophobic; far from it. After all, Potter had told him that Weasley and he had been shacking up since the summer after fourth year, why should Ginny and Tonks bother him? No, it wasn't that; what bothered him was that he had gotten…er…extremely excited when he found them and was halfway through…taking care of that feeling before he remember that he was related to Tonks.

"Damn incestuous family tendencies…" he muttered.

"Price of being a pureblood," came a voice from either side of him.

"Inherit more than looks from your dad, eh Potter?" Draco smirked.

"Screw you, I didn't know I was related to Sirius. Plus it's distant. And I'm not obvious about it like you…" Harry told him.

"He's right Malfoy," Ron said, "It's a bit of a giveaway that you blush anytime you're around Tonks…"

"Shut it, the pair of you," Draco buried his head in his pillow, "And you're just as bad Weasley. Running around after Fred and George," he smiled into his pillow. He knew good and well that the twins were not lust objects for Weasley, but it would be funny watching him turn red. Sure enough…

"What?!?!?" Ron yelped and was promptly smacked in the face by two pillows.

"Shhhhh!" the other two hissed.

"I do NOT harbor anything but brotherly feelings toward any of my brothers or sister," Ron whispered.

Draco laughed quietly. This time it was his turn to get smacked in the face with pillows. "Knock that off," he whispered.

"You planning on going back to sleep any time soon?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Draco said. "You're the ones who started a conversation with me."

"Why don't you go see if Hermione wants some company?" Ron suggested. "That way we don't have to put up with your snoring…"

"I do NOT snore!" Draco protested. "Malfoy's don't snore."

"Whatever you say, mate."

"Listen, if you two want to shag, just tell me," Draco said, getting out of bed and smirking at them. "No need to accuse me of bad subconscious breathing habits."

"Good night, Malfoy."

Draco chuckled and slipped quietly out of the room.


	2. The All Knowing Molly Weasley

**PfmH**

The girls looked at each other. Nothing could be completely wrong, because Ron's scream hadn't really been a scream. It was more of a yelp; like if you stepped on a dog's tail.

"Bloody hell," Ginny said irritably, "if it's not Harry and Ron moaning, it's the three of them having…2:00 in the morning pillow fights or whatever they're doing up there…"

Hermione grinned as a visual of Draco, Harry, and Ron having a really girly pillow fight, complete with squeals, crossed her mind.

"Bit rich of you to talk about Harry and Ron when you can't exactly keep quiet when Tonks is here," Hermione laughed.

"Oh do shut up," Ginny blushed. She then added, "Now that you mention it, I wonder if Tonks is feeling lonely up there by herself?"

"Ginny, you're going to get caught if you keep going up there every night Tonks stays over."

Hermione thought to herself that it was a bit of a giveaway that Ginny had such horrible "nightmares" whenever Tonks came round to stay. The purple haired witch was currently one flight above them, staying in Fred and George's old room…

"Nah, I'm sneaky…" Ginny smiled as she slipped out of the door.

A few minutes after that, Hermione heard the click of the door and footsteps.

_Great_,she thought, _Ginny got caught…_

The next minute however, it was a blonde, not a redhead, walking through her door.

"Potter and Weasley kicked me out, they said I snore. Malfoys do NOT snore…" Draco pouted, sliding into bed next to Hermione, "Can I stay with you?" he asked in his best three year old voice.

"I suppose," Hermione grinned, "Your snoring does become rather soothing after a while."

"I do NOT snore!" Draco protested

"Good night, Draco…" Hermione giggled.

**PfmH**

One of the drawbacks to the switched sleeping arrangements was that they all had to get up early and switch back, so as not to be caught by Mrs. Weasley. As she woke up that morning, Hermione smiled triumphantly to see that Ginny was back in their room and Draco, judging by his absence, was back in Ron's room. Her feelings of smugness were shattered, however, with every step she took down to the kitchen for breakfast.

Normally, the fumes of a dozen delicious breakfast foods, courtesy of Mrs. Weasley, greeted them as they descended from their rooms in the morning. This morning, they could smell nothing, and when they arrived at the kitchen they found Mrs. Weasley looking stern, and Mr. Weasley looking deeply embarrassed.

"Well," she said when they had all entered, "what have you got to say for yourselves?"

They all eyed each other suspiciously. Was she talking about last night? She had to be; but just in case she wasn't, none of them were owning up…

"We know you've been…er…changing rooming arrangements," Mr. Weasley said.

"That's right!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "And what's more, we know you've been…well…consummating your respective relationships…"

"Consummating?" Ron whispered, "Who talks like that?"

"I heard that, young man!" Mrs. Weasley yelled furiously, "You and Harry have been the worst! Do you think we can't hear you? And if you think, for one moment that—"

"Um…Mrs. Weasley?" Draco asked softly.

Up until now, Draco had tried to make his presence at the Burrow helpful, but reserved. He had certainly not taken part in most group discussions, unless spoken to specifically; so when he spoke up everyone turned.

"Ma'am, you're absolutely right," he said softly, "It was wrong of us to sneak about your house when we had been given instructions on where to sleep. If I may speak for the group, we are sorry," he continued, "But please understand, it was not our intention to upset or worry you and Mr. Weasley. We were simply seeking the comfort of one another's presence. You understand, someone to hold close and reassure, and find reassurance in. In these dark times, is it really unreasonable that we seek solace in the arms of those we care for?"

Everyone stared at Draco. Apart from inheriting his father's vanity for hair and skin care, Draco was given to longwinded, romantic monologues. The most troubling part of this was that, most of the time, even though he made them up on the fly, he was very convincing in them.

This was one of those times. Mrs. Weasley had tears welling in her eyes. Tonks, who had whispered, "Oh, he's good," was now looking at Draco with a mixture of jealousy and admiration, as Ginny was looking at him like he was an exceptionally cuddly Pigmy Puff. Harry leaned over to Ron and whispered, "Now you know who talks like that…" Hermione just smiled at him, because he was telling the truth; for them at least. Harry and Ron were another story; as were Ginny and Tonks.

Draco, for his part, smiled sincerely back at Mrs. Weasley, who had now dried her eyes on a dish cloth and was running about the kitchen getting the breakfast things. It looked as though this was something to occupy her, and that the moment she stopped she would burst into tears.

"I think maybe you should all go get dressed," Mr. Weasley told them, "I'll help with breakfast. Come down when you're ready; we have to discuss some things."


	3. A Question and A Death

**PfmH**

Hermione in the lead, the guilty party of six ran back up to Ginny's room. Once inside, Tonks began to laugh at Harry and Ron, who were staring at Draco as though the Slytherin had bats flying from his ears.

"Malfoy," Harry said slowly, "I don't know whether to laugh, cry, or punch you in the mouth. So you should probably start explaining what the _hell _that was downstairs."

Malfoy had the good grace to look embarrassed.

"Malfoys are prone to the romantic," he said, "and we adapt our...speeches…to whatever trouble we're in. You learn quickly. Lots of adjectives and parents are always right. Those two rules will get you far," he said proudly.

Harry turned and walked out. A few seconds later, they heard the taps going in the bathroom; Harry was getting in the shower.

"What's with him?" Malfoy asked

"That was so disgusting, he has to have a wash," Ron said.

"Both of you can sod off, Weasley," Malfoy mumbled, "I have to be able to wax poetic about anything, living with Lucius."

Tonks created a slight diversion then, by falling off the dresser she had been perched on and cursing loudly. As Ginny helped her up, they heard Mrs. Weasley yell,

"You had all better be getting ready up there!"

Apparently Draco's speech had only postponed Mrs. Weasley's anger a little. Ginny called the extra shower; Tonks went up to her room, and Ron left to go to his. Draco was turning to leave, but Hermione pulled him back by his arm.

"What did you mean about having to 'wax poetic'?" she asked, "You had Ambitus on you; surely you didn't have to make things up for your father?"

"Well, not really," Draco answered, apparently thinking about it, "You see, the point of the curse was his will. So as long as I got the point, word choice didn't really matter. However, if he thought I was being sarcastic, or trying to talk back, well…"

He broke off there and looked down.

"Hmmmm," Hermione said, "That's strange…"

"Why?" Draco asked.

"Remember when we were trying to find a counter curse? Well, all of the books we looked in described Ambitus as a curse similar to Imperius; just more long term. You shouldn't have been able to even sound…contemptuous or anything, of your father's views."

Draco looked amazed at this.

"What?" he asked.

"Didn't you read up on the curse?"

"Well, no," he answered, "I mean…I knew the basics, and we weren't looking for how to do it, just how to undo it. So, why didn't it control me completely?"

"I don't know," Hermione said, apparently thinking hard.

"We need to get ready," Draco said, "After breakfast, let's talk with Pot- Harry and Ron."

**PfmH**

An hour later, Hermione, Ron, Harry, Draco, and Ginny were sitting in the boys' room. Having explained the problem, they were now trying to think of solutions.

"Maybe we had the curse wrong?" Harry suggested, "There's got to be a dozen foul curses like that. They used them during arranged marriages and things."

"No, if we had it wrong the counter curse wouldn't have worked," Draco sighed, pacing.

"Maybe you've just always been able to fight it, and it doesn't have anything to do with the curse," Harry said, "That's what it was like for me with Imperious."

"You might be right," Draco mumbled.

"Listen," Ginny said, "We've got to be packed by tomorrow morning. We should get started now."

"She's right," Hermione agreed, "Draco, let's try not to worry about this now. We can look into it when we get to Hogwarts.

"Alright," Draco said.

With that, the girls left the room and went downstairs to pack.

* * *

Mr. Weasley had gone over the procedure with them the previous morning. As Draco had been moved around at the beginning of the holiday, he would be doing the same on his way back to Hogwarts. They would be traveling in two groups, Draco and Hermione, and Ron, Harry, and Ginny. Draco and Hermione would be moved from the Burrow to Moody's house and then arrive at Hogwarts two days early. Harry, Ron, and Ginny would leave the Burrow and go straight to Hogwarts. Mr. Weasley had explained that Harry and Draco needed to be separate, so that there were two targets instead of just one, if they met any Death Eaters. Draco and Hermione would be stopping at Moody's because they would be switching guards halfway through the trip.

That morning, Mr. Weasley sent all of their trunks ahead of them and they sat down to breakfast while they waited for the two guarding groups to turn up. The first to arrive were Kingsley, Tonks, and Sirius (disguised), coming to take Harry, Ron, and Ginny. Once they were Disillusioned, they walked out past the Weasley's gate, each of the three students took an Order member's arm, and disappeared with a small pop.

By this time, Bill and Hestia Jones had arrived for Draco and Hermione. After greeting Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill told them all,

"We'll be taking you straight to Moody's house. You'll stay there tonight, and he and…two other Order members will be taking you to Hogwarts tomorrow."

"Who're the other Order members?" Hermione asked.

"Er…you'll see," Bill smiled.

"Time to go!" Hestia said cheerfully.

The four of them said goodbye to the Weasleys, Disillusioned Hermione and Draco, and walked past the gate. Each grasping their respective guard's arm, they soon had the sensation of being sucked through a straw. It subsided however, and they found themselves standing in the shadows of a secluded park. Pretending to talk to Bill in case anyone came their way, Hestia said,

"His house is just across this park."

Walking across the park was nice. It was good to be out in the open for a change. When they came to Moody's house, Hermione was a bit shocked. For all of the talk, you would think he lived in a heavily gated and armed mansion. Instead, they came across a small brick house with a picket fence outside of it. Looking around, Bill drew his wand and sent something into the air. They waited. A moment later, the area around Moody's house seemed to shimmer a dull blue. When that died away, Bill led the way past the gate.

"What was that?" Hermione asked quietly.

"I sent Moody my Patronus," Bill told her, "He had to take some of the enchantments off so we could come in. Most of them are still armed though, so don't step off of the path."

Moody greeted them at the door and led them inside. Over the next thirty minutes, he explained what not to do during the night, so they wouldn't set any of the alarms off. After a small dinner, Bill and Hestia left, and Moody and the two houseguests took themselves to bed.

PfmH

Hermione woke with a start. Before her sleep addled mind could register the internal intruder alert going off, Draco had run in, pulled her out of bed and squeezed both of them into the closet.

"Death Eaters," he breathed, "Where's you wand?"

"On the nightstand," Hermione whispered, terrified.

"Accio wand," Draco whispered.

Hermione's wand came zooming into the closet. Moody had put them on the top floor while he himself had stayed downstairs. It was only by this planning that Draco managed to hide them and recover Hermione's wand, because it sounded like the Death Eaters were getting close.

"Come on out little Malfoy," growled one voice, "We'll even leave the girl if you just come out now."

"Oh, God," Malfoy whispered, "Greyback."

A man had just come into the room. Well, Hermione supposed it was a man. He was…_furry_. The most disgusting kind of furry imaginable. He was sniffing around, apparently looking for them. Draco Disillusioned them both and got in front of Hermione, pressing her to the back of the closet.

"If he comes near here," Draco whispered, "Stun him. It'll take both of us."

But it ended up that they didn't need to. Before either of them knew what was happening, they heard resounding _crack!s_ to either side of them and felt, for the second time that day, as though they were being sucked through a small tube. When they had steadied themselves, they looked around. They seemed to be in a store.

"Get upstairs you two!" said a voice behind them.

It was George Weasley. They heeded him and ran upstairs to the twins' small flat. Fred came in last and locked the door behind him.

"Where's Moody?" Draco asked.

The twins exchanged a look.

"We couldn't get to him. There were Death Eaters around him when we got to the house. We figured if the alarms had gone off, you two would be together. We checked Draco's room first," Fred said.

"Good thing too," George picked up the story, "The sound of us Apparating distracted Greyback. He would've been to your room a lot faster if he hadn't come to investigate the sound."

"So, Moody's…" Hermione started.

"Dead," Fred said quietly, "I saw it happen. Apparated back downstairs into the kitchen before coming to get you two. I was going to grab him, but they had already…" he broke off.

"Come on, we're not staying," George said, "We just wanted you two to know what's going on. And we have to send a message to Ab."

"Who?" Draco and Hermione asked in unison.

"Aberforth Dumbledore. He runs the Hogs Head. That's where we need to Apparate, so Tonks and Kingsley can take you both up to Hogwarts tomorrow. We can't just go; there might be people in the pub."

George pulled out his wand and shot something in the air, which disappeared after a second.

"Patronus?" Draco asked.

"Yeah."

"Can't we go straight to Hogwarts? We need to tell Dumbledore about Moody."

"You can't Apparate inside the Hogwarts grounds," Hermione said.

"That's right," George agreed, "And Fred's sent word to Dumbledore already."

"We'll be ok at the Hogs Head for a few hours," Fred told them, though they continued to look worried.

"When you're ready," George said, offering his arm to Hermione.

With that, the four of them Apparated to the Hog's Head…

_**LbN: Send reviews! Please and thank you :)**_


	4. Back to School

_**A Place For My Head**_

The room was dark; dimly lit with two candles. It took Hermione's eyes a full minute to adjust to the odd light. When she could finally see properly, she noticed that Fred was casting a plethora of protective spells on their room. George was concentrating on the door.

"How many spells are you going to put on that door?" Draco whispered.

"In total, eleven," Fred told him, "Ab knows we're staying here, so he won't try to come in here or give this room to anyone. Some of these are intruder alerts that'll let us know if anyone's trying to get in."

"Is that likely?" Hermione asked, looking terrified.

"No," George said simply, "We'll be alright. Fred and I will stand guard, you two get some sleep. We'll leave first thing tomorrow."

"George?" Draco started, "Where you two the ones who were going to pick us up from Moody's?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Why couldn't Bill just tell us?"

"We're…undercover, in a way," George told him, "No one's supposed to know where we are. We run the shop…through correspondence."

"How did you know we were in trouble?" Hermione asked.

"One of the security measures Moody had was an alert that sounded if anyone with the Dark Mark came in the house. He sent us a Patronus as soon as he heard that one sound."

Just then, something white floated down and took the shape of a phoenix. The voice of Albus Dumbledore came from its mouth,

"Apparate immediately to the Hogwarts gates. Tonks will meet you there."

"Guess that means we're moving," George said, offering Hermione his arm.

* * *

They appeared in front of a large gate with winged boars on it. In front of them was a woman with bright purple hair.

"Wotcher, you lot," Tonks said, tapping on the front gate.

The winged boars stretched their wings and the gate opened to admit them. Tonks waited until they were all through before making a motion in the air with her wand. The gates swung closed and glowed a faint blue before returning to their normal state.

With the twins in front of them and Tonks behind them, Hermione and Draco made their way up the front lawn towards the school. Taking Hermione's hand, Draco tried some deep breathing to relieve the tension that had risen to a peak in his chest during the last few hours.

They entered the castle and neither of them were surprised when the group headed down one of the hallways and stopped in front of a stone gargoyle.

"We should get back to our…stations…" George said.

"Yeah, Dumbledore's waiting for you guys; go on up," Fred added.

"Thanks you two," Draco smiled.

"Yeah, thank you," Hermione agreed.

"Ahh, it was nothing," Fred grinned.

"Yeah, where's the fun in life if you can't go on a few daring rescue missions?" George laughed.

"We'll see you soon, I expect," Fred said, "Later Tonks!"

"Bye guys," Tonks smiled.

The three of them watched the twins walk away. Then Tonks said,

"Oh! Right, Draco, what was the first thing I said to you when we met?"

"What? Before or after you asked why my dad hated you?" Draco replied.

"I was thinking before, but now I know it's you anyway…"

"You told me that you could make your hair the same color as mine, but that you liked pink better."

"Hermione, what's my pet name for Ginny?"

"Oh, Tonks, can't you think of another question?" Hermione said, nodding at Draco who was grinning from ear to ear.

"No."

"If you tell this to anyone I'll let Ginny kill you," Hermione glared at Draco, "For some odd reason, you call her cuddle-bear."

"Wonderful, now we can go see Dumbledore," Tonks said brightly, "Caramel Spritzer."

"Ok," Draco said, wiping tears of laughter out of his eyes, "first things first, why do you know that?"

"I heard her saying goodnight to Ginny one time, and she called her that," Hermione smiled.

"Second, more serious, Tonks," he said, "why did you wait until Fred and George were gone to question us? And shouldn't you have questioned them?"

"Dumbledore put up another defense spell. I would have known right away if Fred and George were Death Eaters, because the gates are enchanted to reveal anyone posing as Order members," Tonks explained as the climbed the stairs.

"What would have happened to them?" Hermione asked.

"You don't want to know," Tonks said grimly, "Just know that those boars coming to life weren't just for show. And to answer your first question, cousin, Fred and George hadn't really left; their stations are…close at hand. Most Death Eaters are a certain brand of cowardly. If you two had been, you wouldn't have shown yourselves to me if you were outnumbered, so they walked away."

They had reached the door to Dumbledore's office. Tonks raised her wand and tapped three times. Once they had entered, they barely had time to register the fact that Ron and Harry were there before Ginny had thrown herself at Tonks and almost knocked all three of them over.

"I'm fine Ginny!" Tonks laughed.

"I hate it when you have to leave at night," Ginny pouted.

Remembering Ginny's pet name, Draco had a good idea why. However he maintained his composure as only a Malfoy can, and held his tongue. Sitting down and taking the biscuits Dumbledore offered him, he began to recount his and Hermione's little adventure for the Headmaster. Dumbledore listened quietly, only asking anything when Draco got ahead of himself, or if he wanted to know if Hermione had noticed anything different. For her part, Hermione was really too tired to try and tell the story along with Draco, so she let him handle the recount.

When Dumbledore had all of the information that he needed, he spoke.

"Very well, you have both been very brave tonight. Since you have all come early, I think it would be best if you all stayed in Gryffindor Tower tonight. Do you understand, Draco? I don't want you alone this year. Your classmates are not all sided with the Dark Lord. You will be fine when they get back. However, I'd rather you had company for tonight. And make sure you are accompanied within the grounds as well this year."

"Yes, sir," Draco nodded.

"Now, I now I have been addressing Draco in particular, but what I have told him goes for you as well," he told them all "I know that vengeance will be a high priority when Lucius and Bellatrix are freed. I do not want to present an easy target, should they be able to find a way back into Hogwarts."

"Do you think that's likely, Professor?" Harry asked.

"No. I do not. However, I did not think it possible the first time it happened, so it would be better to be prepared. I think Misters Fred and George Weasley are taking their jobs very seriously, and you should sleep easier knowing that."

"So that's what they're doing!" Ron exclaimed, "Guarding Hogwarts?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled a bit and he smiled as he answered,

"In a manner of speaking. I can't tell you everything, but know that anyone who wants to get into Hogwarts who shouldn't be here, will have a…err…rather difficult time doing it. And, on the other hand, anyone wanting to sneak out," he gave Harry a hard look, "will have an even more difficult time. Now, it is late. Or early, rather. You all run along to bed. I'll have some of the house elves bring you brunch around, say, ten thirty?"

They all agreed to this plan and started to exit the Headmaster's office. Before they had left however, Dumbledore spoke again,

"Oh, I almost forgot! Draco, Hermione, would you come here please?"

Looking bewildered, both of them approached Dumbledore's desk. The Headmaster gave them both envelopes and said,

"You'll find your Head Boy and Head Girl badges in there."

Smiling at their expressions, Dumbledore excused them with a small "Goodnight!" and the students and Tonks, who would be one of Gryffindor's security guards, made their way up to the dormitory.


	5. Draco's Power and A Warning

**PfmH**

The boys woke late the next morning. By the time they made it downstairs, the house elves had already left their lunch with the girls. As they ate, they discussed what they would do for the next two days.

"I think we should go to the library," Hermione began.

Harry and Ron threw her looks of disgust. It was, after all, still vacation.

"To look up more on the Ambitus Curse. Draco and I can go anyway," she rolled her eyes.

"We'll all go," Harry said. It was an automatic response; he still wasn't fully used to being able to trust Draco.

So, at half past twelve, Draco, Hermione, Harry, Ginny and Ron made their way down to the Hogwarts library. Madam Pince surveyed them harshly as they made their way into the stacks of books. Hermione, Draco, and Ron took advantage of their positions as prefects, and went to scan the Restricted Area. Harry and Ginny meanwhile, kept themselves occupied by taking bets and quizzing each other on Quidditch history. Before they had even got out of earshot, Hermione heard Ginny win five Galleons…

It was lucky that Ron had a somewhat good memory, because neither of the other two remembered where _Dyre Hexes Misteryos_, _Cryel Afflyctions_, or _Vengeance Most Sevaere_ were located. All in all, he sped the search process along quite a bit, owing to the fact that all three were located in the general vicinity of a purple book that had screamed at him. That's not something you forget quickly.

By the time they made it back, Harry and Ginny had grabbed a number of other books on fighting regular curses, and were already reading.

"Who in the world thought of this?" Ginny said, "Turns your ears into cucumbers…"

"That's an odd place to put a horn…oh…" Harry muttered.

"We found them," Draco said.

"Here Ginny," Ron tossed her a book that gave a loud squeal in protest, "You know I'm no good with runes."

For the next few hours, they all pored over their books with only minimal complaints, and a few questions. Harry ran a hand through his already messy hair.

"I'm telling you mate," he told Draco, "You can just fight it. Naturally. Look, none of these books say anything about…you know, just being able to fight the curses without learning. You can though; I can do it."

"But Ambitus is supposed to be this powerful curse that's ridiculously hard to fight on your own. You're telling me I can just do it? Just like that?"

"I reckon so," Harry said.

"Besides Draco," Hermione started, "I don't think having the ability to fight it would mean something's wrong. It just means you're stronger than the curse."

"Have you all settled on that then?" said a voice behind them.

They all jumped. Turning around, they saw Fred and George walking toward them.

"What are you two doing here?" Ron asked, "Aren't you supposed to be guarding the castle?"

"We are," the twins said together.

"What did you think we were doing?" Fred started.

"Standing outside the castle gates with our wands out?" George finished.

"That's really weird…"Draco told the twins.

"What?" they said in unison.

"That," he said.

"What are you doing here then?" Hermione asked.

"Top secret, that, Granger," George smiled.

"But you'll be seeing us a lot this year, as we're…on location," Fred told her.

"Anyway," George said, "It's time for an early dinner, the Order members are joining us. Come on."

* * *

The night the students came back was weird at best. No one knew the whole story behind Draco's…transformation, so they were all treating Harry, whom they had heard was fighting, like some sort of god. Draco didn't mind, of course, because it meant that he wouldn't have to explain his daddy issues to a million and one people. It was a bit weird with Crabbe and Goyle gone, but he had never really talked to them; other than to give orders. When the feast started, and he was sure that everyone was well into their self-centered discussions on summer activities, he nudged Blaise in the ribs.

When he was a boy, Draco had, naturally, only been allowed to play with pureblood children. That meant, when it came down to friends his age, there was Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini. Sure, there were Crabbe and Goyle as well, but Lucius had been wary of their stupidity rubbing off on his brilliant son…Draco had always liked Blaise more than Nott. For one thing, Nott was a huge whinger. Skinned knee, he'd cry to his mum; Draco grabbed one of his toys, he'd cry to his dad. He wasn't ever much fun to be around, but more than anything, he was a coward. He'd say or do anything his dad told him to without even thinking. Blaise thought for himself, and even as a child, Draco had appreciated that quality in his friends; mostly because he was unable to do it. He thought that if you had the ability, you should make the most of it.

So, that night, when Draco needed someone to patrol with him, he decided to ask Blaise. In the past, patrolling was a one person event unless you were friendly with the other prefects, or wanted it to take forever by sticking with the other prefect from your house. Dumbledore had his doubts about Pansy, so he had requested that Draco take a loyal friend along. Draco had almost laughed, but had remembered that Blaise had told him that he would outright refuse to become a Death Eater. Anti-Death Eater and one of his friends? Blaise would do perfectly…

"What's up, Malfoy?" Blaise asked. They were, of course, on first name terms, but they had to keep up appearances in front of the younger students…

"I need a favor," Draco said, aware that Nott was now listening, "Will you patrol with me tonight?"

"Sure," Blaise said, going back to his potato.

Draco stared hard at Nott, who was giving him a disappointed look. If he thought Draco would take him along, he was sadly mistaken.

When they were finally done eating, Dumbledore gave his usual speech about standing together and keeping each other safe. One new bit of information came at the end of his speech.

"I also must ask you," Dumbledore began, "to refrain from trying to sneak off of the grounds. I'm sure you are all familiar with Misters Fred and George Weasley?"

There was a loud cheer at this.

"Well, the ingenuity normal displayed in their…creative…products, is now being put toward making sure this castle is safe, sound, and secure. I advise you to not put the security restrictions to the test…"

"Weasley?" Blaise asked as they left the Great Hall, "They've got a brother in our year, right?"

"Yeah," Draco said.

"You stayed with them this summer, right?"

"You stayed with them, Malfoy?" Nott said, running up behind them.

"Go away, Nott," Draco said.

"They're blood traitors, and you stayed with them?" Nott asked, disgusted, "I thought you were better than that…"

Draco spun so fast that Blaise barely saw him take out his wand.

"Say it again," Draco said, wand at Nott's neck, "What I do in the summer is none of your business, Nott. In fact, what I do at all is none of your business. And you'd be wise to remember that it's a bit rich of you to talk about other people's blood status, when there's a strong rumor that half your family are Muggles."

Draco took his wand away; people were staring. It wasn't actually a rumor, it was true. Nott's mother was a Muggle-born. How his father swung being a Death Eater was beyond him. Blaise grabbed him by the arm and they made their way down to the dungeons.

"Sorry about that," Blaise said.

"'s okay," Draco muttered, "At least he hasn't found out…"

"What?"

"I'll tell you on patrol."

* * *

An hour and a half later, Draco and Blaise were walking along the second floor corridor. Draco was doing his best to explain the past year to his friend.

"So what didn't you want Nott to hear earlier?" Blaise asked, after Draco was finished.

"I'm dating Hermione," Draco answered simply.

"Granger? The Gryffindor?"

"How many Hermiones do you know?" Draco smirked.

He began to tell Blaise about the summer, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, he was knocked aside and Blaise was sprawled on the floor. Before he could turn to see who had done it, he was shoved against the wall and a hand was at his throat. As he struggled for breath, he heard more than one voice yell,

"_Relashio_!"

Draco crumpled to the floor. When he looked up, he saw Blaise and Ron holding Nott. Hermione and Harry helped him up.

"I'm fine," he told them, eyes watering a bit, "What the hell, Nott?"

"First you turn on your father and run around with blood traitors. Now, you're dating a mudblood?"

"Hey!" Draco yelled, blue and silver sparks coming out of his wand.

Hermione grabbed him and Harry, but she only had two hands. That wasn't enough to stop Ron from punching Nott in the mouth. Nott made a move like he wanted to fight, but Blaise still had a firm hold on him.

"What's going on here?" said a voice.

It was Dumbledore; he was standing next to McGonagall.

Draco registered that it probably looked bad for them, standing five on one, with the one bleeding.

"Nott attacked us Professors," Blaise said.

"Then perhaps you'd care to explain why he is the one bleeding," McGonagall said sternly.

"He called Hermione a mudblood. I lost control, sorry," Ron said.

"Responsibility a turn on for you, Potter?" Draco muttered to Harry, who was looking at Ron as if he were a fluffy toy penguin.

"Shut up Malfoy," Harry blushed.

"You'll, see," Nott said, struggling, "When the Dark Lord takes over, he'll make you pay for this, you blood traitor!"

"That's enough," Dumbledore said firmly, but Nott wasn't listening.

"He's going to kill you, old man," Nott said, "He'll find a way back into Hogwarts and he'll kill you and Potter, and then we'll see what happens to scum like Malfoy."

"Enough!" Dumbledore said, "Minerva, if you would be so kind as to help Mr. Weasley and Mr. Zabini escort Mr. Nott to my office."

When they had left, he turned to the rest of them.

"Draco, you will stay in the Head Boy's room in Gryffindor this year. Mr. Zabini will take the Slytherin Head Boy's room. Get to bed, all of you," he said.

They turned and headed toward Gryffindor tower.

"Why's he making Zabini take your old room, Draco?" Hermione asked.

"Because," Draco said shrewdly, "he doesn't want Nott to try and take out his anger on Blaise. I'm not a problem, because I'll be in Gryffindor. He can't expel Nott, he's not a Death Eater," Draco elaborated seeing Harry's look.

"Besides," he continued, as they made their way into Gryffindor tower, "it could be helpful having him around. Nott's father isn't too smart, he might tell Nott something that will help the Order; if they can get it out of him."

"There's something we have to do tomorrow," Harry told the other two before they made their way to their rooms, "It's time to start fighting; we're going to get the DA back together again…"


	6. The DA Reborn

**PfmH**

Draco awoke with a start. The scarlet and gold banners had thrown him for a moment. Then, with a groan, he remembered the previous night. Was that what it was going to be like with all of his classmates? Surely not. Some of them were too young to be anything but really bad spies; others didn't have the brains. The few who were old enough and had the brains…well, he could pretty much tell who was Death Eater material and who wasn't. Pansy certainly was. He shuddered to think of his aunt's new apprentice…But Blaise was still on his side, and his mother wasn't a Death Eater so he wouldn't be forced into it.

He dressed inattentively and walked toward the door. He paused, thinking how weird it was going to look for a Slytherin to be walking out of the Gryffindor Head Boy's room. Then he laughed at all of the possible ways the Gryffindors in the common room could take that. He was disappointed to find that no shocked faces met him; only Hermione, Harry, and Ron were there.

"Morning," he said.

The others all gave replies in various states of grogginess.

They made their way down to the Great Hall, where Draco got what he had been expecting previously. Looks of shock, and in some of the Slytherins' cases, disgust, abounded. Though most people knew that Harry and Draco had matured last year and put their rivalry behind them, absolutely no one expected to see Ron clap Draco on the back before making his way over to the Gryffindor table. More astounding was the fact that Hermione gave his hand a squeeze before sitting down. Harry pulled Draco aside and said,

"Look, are you sure about Blaise?"

"More than sure," Draco replied, "He's alright, I'm telling you. Besides, even if he wasn't, it's not like you can just skip your regular schedule to tail me all day, Potter," he smirked.

"I just don't want you getting kidnapped," Harry said, rolling his eyes, "Hermione will rope us into rescuing you and it'll completely ruin the day…"

Draco laughed and walked over to the Slytherin table. He sat down next to Blaise. Brown eyes narrowed into grey ones as they silently communicated what had just happened. While Snape had been adamant that mind reading is just a Muggle fairy tale, he hadn't been quite truthful to Harry. Blaise and Draco had long since mastered the art of telepathy. It was quite helpful, really, to be able to talk to one another this way. Especially since most of their year currently hated their existence.

_"Blaise?"_

_ "Yeah?"_

_ "Potter's got this thing we've got to go to tonight. It's called Dumbledore's Army, or something like that. We've got to go to the Room of Requirement at nine tonight."_

_ "Okay."_

They sat eating quietly for a moment. Then Blaise glanced down the table. Though he went back to eating, he was talking to Draco…

_"Do you think Pansy's really a Death Eater?"_

_ "Yes. Aunt Bellatrix is training her. She told me before she knew I had defected…"_

Their minds were silent again. They finished eating and made their way to Transfiguration…

* * *

By the time they made it to the Great Hall for dinner, Draco had never been more thankful for Blaise as a friend. He was, Draco decided, the kind of person you wanted along when hunting, say, chimaeras. He paid close attention to what he was doing, but at the same time had an odd, almost eerie, sense of what was going on around him. He had deflected fifteen curses aimed at Draco's back, and probably saved his life twice by pulling him out of the way of two dark purple, sinister looking hexes. Draco was a nervous, paranoid wreck walking into the Great Hall. He stopped at the doors and said to Blaise,

"Are you…emotionally attached to anyone in our house?"

"Not particularly. I have an occasional surge of hope for the younger ones, that they don't turn out like our parents; but other than that nothing."

"Good," Draco said, and made a motion for Blaise to follow him.

His next action took a lot of what he felt was either courage or stupidity. He walked along the outsides of the tables, right up to Hermione, Harry, and Ron. He stopped, aware that all eyes were on him.

"May we join you?" he asked.

Immediately, Harry slid to one side and threw a potato wedge at Ron so he would do the same. It was a first in Hogwarts history, watching Blaise sit next to Ron, and Draco between Harry and Hermione. The hall was a buzz of confusion. Never, in living memory, had two Slytherins voluntarily dined with Gryffindors. The world had indeed gone mad…

* * *

Draco was astonished. He had been in the Room before, of course, but this was quite impressive. He and Blaise walked around the Room and examined everything while the other three waited for the rest of the DA to turn up.

They showed up in not so much a trickle as a mob. Everyone sort of came at one time, and their expressions all changed when they walked into the Room.

"What are you playing at Potter?" Ernie Macmillan asked, nodding at Draco and Blaise.

"They're on our side," Harry said, "Trust me. And Draco is going to teach, along with me this year."

"What?" the DA yelled.

"What?" Draco asked Harry.

"You remember when we started?" Harry asked the others, "How some of you didn't really believe I could teach until we talked about what I had done? Well, I've done a lot, there's no denying that, but what Draco's been through is a whole different level of bravery and skill. He'll help me a lot where I miss stuff, as well."

Harry looked at Draco, who was blushing slightly, and then at the DA, all of whom had skeptical looks on their faces.

"Look," he sighed, "I'm asking you to trust me. I don't really know how to make you believe me—"

"I do," Draco said.

He walked over to the bookshelf and stared at it for a moment. Almost immediately, the Room supplied what he was looking for. He pulled down _Vengeance Most Sevaere_ and walked back to the group. He opened it to the chapter on the Ambitus Curse and set it down on the table.

"I was under a curse, put on me by my father. It's all there. I'm sure you won't believe me, so you can ask Hermione. She's the one who undid the curse."

"That's right," Harry said, "I thought maybe tonight could…well, honestly, I thought you wouldn't believe him, so I planned on spending tonight convincing you…"

There were a couple of laughs at this.

"So, if you want to talk about it, or read about it, fine. Other than that, well, we can review or you guys can go if you want. And I know this isn't like when Umbridge was here, but we still need to keep this between us, ok? Dumbledore and McGonagall know about it, but that's it. There are students here that…might be sympathetic to Voldemort's side. We don't want him to know that we're training to fight."

Draco waited for the protests. The angry outcries against him; but none came. Instead, there was a surge toward the book and toward Hermione. A few of the younger students even cautiously approached him.

By the time ten o'clock rolled around, Draco thought he might have a couple of people convinced. The majority of the DA still thought he was an evil toe-rag, but he'd have a chance to convince them.

The rest of the DA had left, and Draco, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were walking back to Gryffindor tower, when a house elf came speeding along the corridor towards them. It was Dobby.

"Good evening sirs and miss," the elf said, "I has a message from Professor Dumbledore. He wishes to see Harry Potter sir, and Master Malfoy, in his office immediately."

"Thanks Dobby," Harry told the elf.

"Yeah, thanks," Draco said.

The elf looked thoroughly taken aback by his former master's attitude toward him, but nevertheless, bowed low and sped off.

"What d'you think Dumbledore wants with you?" Ron asked.

"Dunno," Draco said.

Harry just shrugged.

The two of them wished Ron and Hermione a good night and turned off down the corridor toward the Headmaster's office…


	7. Draco's Horcrux

**PfmH**

Neither of them knew why, but a panic had gripped the pair of them while they were walking; so that by the time they reached the stone gargoyle that indicated Dumbledore's office, they were actually running.

"Sugar quills," Draco panted.

The stone gargoyle hopped aside and Harry and Draco raced up the stairs. When they got to the door, they composed themselves a bit, knocked, and were told from within to enter. As calmly as possible, Draco opened the door and they entered.

They cast a few panicked glances around, but all seemed to be normal. They both were hit with the idea that this might be a trap. They stood just inside of the doorway. Dumbledore seemed to read their stricken expressions, because he smiled warmly and said,

"There is no need to worry. We simply have some business to discuss. Business that Harry already knows about."

Draco quirked an eyebrow at Harry, who simply shrugged and walked forward. They both sat in front of Dumbledore's desk, wondering why they were so on edge.

"The time has come, Harry," Dumbledore began, "To include Draco into our…mission, for want of a better term."

"Professor?" Harry asked, throwing a cautious glance at Draco. He trusted the blonde a bit more now, but he wasn't sure why Dumbledore felt the need to tell him about their quest to destroy Voldemort…

"I feel that you, Draco, will be of great use to our cause," Dumbledore smiled.

"What cause is that sir?" Draco asked, completely bewildered.

"Horcruxes," Dumbledore said, "Six of them, to be precise. You know what Horcruxes are?"

Draco nodded; you didn't spend seventeen years in a family of Dark wizards without retaining some of that knowledge.

"Two of them, Riddle's diary and ring, have been destroyed. Harry was so kind as to help me locate where a third one should have been this summer."

"Should have been?" Draco asked.

"The one there was a fake," Harry explained.

"So," Dumbledore continued, "We still have to locate that particular one. However, I think I know where another one may be; and this is where I need your help, Draco."

"In the first war, Voldemort's most loyal servant was probably your dear aunt Bellatrix. Others may say that they were, alone, devoted, but your aunt served with particular fierceness. And I believe that he would have been comfortable enough to entrust her with a piece of his soul. She, I am guessing, does not know what it is, only that it is important to him. That, again a guess, would be enough for her to guard it with her life; or with her Gringotts vault."

"You're telling me that Voldemort is daft enough to put a Horcrux in Gringotts?" Draco asked.

"Could you think of a reason?" Dumbledore asked Harry.

Harry thought for a moment.

"Well…he was raised in a Muggle orphanage. Gringotts is a symbol of the wizarding world; he would've wanted a key. He wouldn't have had one at school, or while he was working. And by the time he returned from…wherever he was…he was Voldemort. Doubt the goblins would've let him in…"

"My guess exactly Harry," Dumbledore said.

"How do you know so much about him?" Draco asked Harry, quite impressed.

"Painstaking research," Dumbledore smiled, "And now, it is time to tell you my plan. I would like for you to go to Gringotts, Draco, on the premise of withdrawing something from your aunt's vault. Harry and I will accompany you, invisible, and we will see about getting the cup. Hufflepuff's cup," he clarified.

"Do you think they'll let me, sir?" Draco said, "Withdraw the gold, I mean?"

"I believe you receive gold for you birthday every year from her?"

"Yes," Draco said, "but it's past my birthday. And even if it weren't…"

"I'm sorry," Dumbledore said, "I should have explained better. We won't be getting gold, because, you're right, they wouldn't exactly believe that. You will be receiving your 'inheritance' from your aunt. An object of priceless worth that she has passed down to you; as she has no sons of her own."

"They're still in Azkaban?" Draco asked, a sliver of fright creeping into his voice.

"They are still in Azkaban," Dumbledore confirmed, "And Voldemort firmly believes that no one is clever enough to figure out that he has multiple Horcruxes; and even if they are, that one is hidden in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault. It should not be protected by anything other than what the goblins have devised."

Draco and Harry nodded.

"If you will both consent to come," Dumbledore continued, "I would like to leave after breakfast tomorrow. The earlier we do this, the better," he watched the boys nod, "And I need your full and honest consent that you will follow any instructions I may give," again, they nodded, "Even if it means leaving me and saving yourselves?"

Both of them paused.

"Your word?" Dumbledore prompted.

Slowly, they nodded.

"Good. I will send word to your professors that the pair of you have a detention with me tomorrow. You may tell Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger, if you like. I must ask you, Draco, not to tell Blaise. I am not sure that he is fully committed to our side yet."

Draco nodded. He didn't like it, but he would do it.

"Good, now, off to bed with you. Meet me tomorrow after breakfast, and Harry, don't forget your Invisibility cloak."

"Yes sir."

"Good night professor."

"Good night."

* * *

Draco's life was passing, far too quickly, before his eyes. It kept ending suddenly. He decided that the next near death experience he agreed to have would be at a time when his life would take more than a minute…

He walked slowly up the steps leading to Gringotts. He could feel his heart hammering and wondered if Harry was this scared. He stopped when the goblin opened the door for him. Bowing low, to give Dumbledore and Harry time to get through, Draco told him, "Thanks very much, sir," and passed through the door.

The cool air hit him and he felt himself relax a bit. He looked down the aisle at the mostly empty bank. Taking a deep breath, he walked into the area designated "Private Accounts Only". Walking up to one of the goblins behind the desk, Draco said,

"Good morning sir."

"Ah," said the goblin, whose name was Dbosaz, "Young Master Malfoy. What brings you to Gringotts today?"

"I wish to collect my inheritance. I turned seventeen this summer. Bellatrix Lestrange's vault."

Dbosaz looked up suspiciously.

"She…em…told you to come and get it then?"

"No, sir," Draco had been expecting this line of questioning, "My aunt, along with my father, is in Azkaban prison, where they belong. That is the reason for my delay in collecting it."

"There's no note about any…Malfoy/Black inheritance in Miss Lestrange's paperwork…"

"There oughtn't to be," Draco said calmly, "It's a family heirloom and, forgive me, my aunt has trouble trusting others with things of that nature. It was to look and be described no different than the other treasure in the vault."

"And you wish to withdraw this heirloom?" the goblin said slowly.

"My inheritance consists of a number of pieces. I wish to withdraw only two; a cup and one of the shields. The rest may stay there."

He had made this bit up on the spur of the moment. He figured that it would be a lot more convincing if the goblin thought he knew what was in his aunt's vault; which, by a luck stroke of eavesdropping on his aunt's boastful talks, he did.

"Very well," Dbosaz said, "If you could give me the password to the Lestrange vault, we can go."

This caught Draco slightly off guard, but, true to Malfoy character, he held his composure and thought for a moment. It was really quite easy, as long as you had a little knowledge of how Bellatrix's mind worked.

"Of course," he smiled to Dbosaz, "The password is Sirius Black.

He could almost feel Harry's confusion. He'd explain later. The goblin nodded and beckoned Draco to follow him to one of the carts. Again, to give Harry and Dumbledore time, Draco paused. This time he faked a sneeze, took out his handkerchief, and dabbed his nose.

"My apologies," he told Dbosaz as he settled into the cart, "I've had a slight cold…"

The cart jolted to life, and they were off. They sped past, probably, hundreds of vaults, down to a deep chasm in the bank's underground tunnels. They stopped at a vault with a large B engraved on it. Draco inwardly rolled his eyes at his aunt's refusal to be anything less than a Black…

He got out and walked with the goblin to the vault's entrance. Dbosaz placed his hand on the door of the vault and it opened. He stood back and let Malfoy, and unbeknownst to him, Harry, and Dumbledore pass into the vault. Dumbledore had given him a specific look at what the cup looked like, but in all of this gold, it was still hard to find. The goblin, who apparently had bought his story, waved his hand and the mountain of gold split into to piles to reveal a staircase. Draco walked cautiously up to the goblet. He knew his aunt. Demented though she was, she was brilliant. The goblet would have protection on it, and the goblin expected him to know it.

"Don't touch it with your hands," said a voice next to his ear. It was Dumbledore.

Draco took out his wand and poked it through one of the cups handles. Gently, he placed the cup in the pocket of his robes. He and Dumbledore walked back down the stairs. He turned to the goblin, aware that Harry and the Headmaster were walking back to the cart.

"I think I'll leave the shield here," he told Dbosaz, "I wanted it for my room, but I don't think it will fit."

"As you wish," Dbosaz said.

* * *

As the two boys walked back up the stone steps to the castle with Dumbledore, Draco couldn't believe that they had pulled it off. They walked in silence back to Dumbledore's office and placed the cup on the desk. Dumbledore walked over to the case above his desk and took down the sword of Gryffindor. He held it out to Draco.

"I find it fitting," he said, "that Draco be the one to destroy it."

Draco took the sword, and held it above the cup. Harry was reminded largely of the only movie he had been allowed to watch with Dudley, The Sword in the Stone. He watched as Draco plunged the sword into the cup and saw the cup break and bleed.

Draco dropped the sword.

"How are you feeling?" Dumbledore asked.

"Okay," Draco said, "I think…"

"Three down," Harry said.


	8. Sirius's House

**PfmH**

"Mal—Draco?" Harry asked.

"Yeah?" the Slytherin replied.

They were in the Gryffindor common room and, having just filled Hermione and Ron in on their search, were talking about Horcruxes a bit more.

"Why is Bellatrix's password to her vault 'Sirius Black'?"

Draco chuckled.

"Because he's at the top of her hit list currently. The point of a password is that no one but the owner will be able to figure it out. No one in a million years, unless they know her brand of insanity very well, is going to guess Sirius Black."

They fell into silence. Harry looked at Ron, who was apparently thinking hard about something. After a few moments, he said,

"Harry? We need to go see Dumbledore."

"Why?"

"I have an idea about who R.A.B is."

"Who?" Hermione asked.

"Sirius's brother," Ron said, "Remember? His name was Regulus. Regulus Black. And Sirius said that he joined up with the Death Eaters, but got himself killed. What if it was at that lake?"

"Come off it," Draco said, "You're telling me that we're on this search for pieces of Voldemort's soul, and we just happen to know the relative of someone who has o—" Draco stopped. That's exactly what had happened to him…

"It's worth a shot," Ron grinned; he could see where Draco's train of thought had stopped.

Despite Harry's declarations that all four of them did not need to go running off to Grimmauld Place, Draco and Hermione decided to accompany him and Ron to visit Sirius. After a few minutes, they were outside of the Headmaster's office.

"Sugar Quills!" Harry said, and watched the stone gargoyle leap aside.

The four of them ran up the steps and paused before the Headmaster's door. Harry listened, making sure that Dumbledore was quite alone, and then knocked. He was told from within to enter.

Dumbledore looked up from his desk, puzzled, as they entered.

"Harry?" he asked.

"Sir, we think we have an idea who had the locket Horcrux last," Harry explained, "We need to go see Sirius."

"Sirius?" the Headmaster asked.

"His brother, Regulus, was a Death Eater. Regulus Black. No one knows what happened to him…" Harry trailed off, knowing how half-baked their plan sounded.

Dumbledore, however, didn't seem to mind. He strode over to the fireplace and said,

"_Incendio!_"

He threw in a small amount of green powder, then turned to Harry.

"Do you have the fake one?" he asked. Harry pulled it out of his pocket.

"Good. Here Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore handed Ron the sword of Gryffindor, "Just in case…"

The boys stepped, one after the other, into the fire and shouted, "Grimmauld Place!" and disappeared.

Harry stumbled out of Sirius's fireplace a moment later and caught Ron as he came tumbling out behind him. Both dusted themselves off, and looked around the kitchen.

"Sirius?" Harry called.

They walked into the hall and heard music. Swing music.

"Remus is here," Ron smiled.

Harry grinned and called again,

"Sirius?"

The portrait of Mrs. Black came to life. Harry grimaced and stunned it, closing the curtains. Horrible racket though it had made, it had gotten his godfather and former teacher's attention. They came into the hall.

"Harry? Is everything alright?" Remus asked.

"Fine," Harry said, "But I need to ask Sirius something. What was your brother's middle name?"

"His middle name was Arcturus," Sirius said, thoroughly taken aback, "Ron, why do you have a sword?"

But neither of the boys was listening. Harry had tackled Ron in a hug, shouted, "You're brilliant!" and run back in the kitchen. The adults followed, completely bewildered.

"Kreacher!" Harry yelled once he was inside the kitchen.

There was a small _crack!_ as the house elf appeared.

"Harry, what's going on?" Remus asked.

"Young Master summoned Kreacher," the elf bowed, then mutter, "Young brat comes back into my mistress's house with the blood traitor brat."

"Don't call him that!" Sirius yelled.

"Sirius! Stop shouting at Kreacher," Harry said firmly.

Ron barely contained a laugh as Sirius and Kreacher gave Harry the exact same look of shock. Harry sat before the elf and said, as kindly as he could,

"Kreacher? I've got a very important question for you. And I'd like you to answer me honestly, please."

The elf nodded and looked at him.

"When we cleaned the house a few years ago," Harry began, "you saved a bunch of stuff. Did you take a locket?"

The elf nodded again.

"Master Regulus's locket," Kreacher said, and then he shivered.

Harry, having had four years experience with Dobby, threw himself forward and tackled the elf as he tried to run headlong into the fire.

"No Kreacher," Harry gasped, "There's no need to punish yourself, you've done nothing wrong."

"Kreacher failed in his orders!" the elf sobbed.

"Kreacher, what orders?" Ron asked, walking over and helping Harry hold the struggling elf.

"Master Regulus," the elf gasped, "had proper pride. When he was sixteen years old, he joined the Dark Lord. And one day, a year after he had joined, Master Regulus came down to the kitchen to see Kreacher. Master Regulus always liked Kreacher. And Master Regulus said…he said…"

Kreacher rocked back and forth.

"…he said that the Dark Lord needed an elf."

"And then what happened?" Harry asked in a deceptively gentle voice. He knew, of course, what Kreacher was about to tell him, but he needed to hear it to believe it.

"Master Regulus had volunteered Kreacher. It was an honor, said Master Regulus, an honor for him and for Kreacher, who must be sure to do whatever the Dark Lord ordered him to do…and then to c-come home."

"You served my nutter family and Voldemort?" Sirius asked in disgust.

"Sirius, shut up!" Harry and Ron shouted together.

Sirius regained his look of confusion, and Kreacher, possibly emboldened by the fact that it wasn't him getting yelled at for once, continued his story.

"So Kreacher went to the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord did not tell Kreacher what they were to do, but took Kreacher with him to a cave beside the sea. And beyond the cave there was a cavern, and in the cavern was a great black lake…"

Harry's skin crawled as he pictured the same lake.

"There was a boat," Kreacher said, "and a basin in the middle of the lake…"

The elf shuddered, seemingly unable to continue. Harry finished for him,

"He made you drink that potion, didn't he Kreacher?"

Kreacher nodded, tears leaking out of his old eyes.

"Kreacher needed water, he crawled to the island's edge and he drank from the black lake…and hands, dead hands, came out of the water and dragged Kreacher under the surface…"

"How did you get away?" Harry asked.

"Master Regulus told Kreacher to come back," he said.

"I know—but how did you escape the Inferi?"

"Master Regulus told Kreacher to come back," the elf repeated with a confused look.

"I know, but—"

"Well, it's obvious, isn't it, Harry?" Ron said, "He Disapparated!"

"But…you couldn't Apparate in and out of that cave," said Harry, "otherwise Dumbledore—"

"Elf magic isn't like wizard's magic, is it?" Ron countered, "I mean, they can Apparate and Disapparate in and out of Hogwarts when we can't."

"The house-elf's highest law is his Master's bidding," Kreacher told them, "Kreacher was told to come home, so Kreacher came home."

"Well, then, you did what you were told, didn't you?" Ron said, "You didn't disobey orders at all!"

Kreacher rocked a little faster, shaking his head.

"What happened then, Kreacher?" Harry asked. This was going to be interesting explaining to Sirius and Remus…

"Master Regulus was very worried," croaked Kreacher, "He told Kreacher to stay hidden and not to leave the house. And then…one night, Master Regulus came to find Kreacher in his cupboard…He told me to take him to the cave where Kreacher had gone with the Dark Lord…and…and"

Harry was hit with a jolt of sickening realization.

"He drank it? Regulus," Harry watched as the elf sobbed and nodded.

"Kreacher could not destroy the first locket. Master Regulus ordered him to, but Kreacher could not…"

There were no more coherent words from the house elf. Harry and Ron looked at each other while Kreacher sobbed. They had completely forgotten that Sirius and Remus were in the room until Sirius spoke.

"Harry, what's this all about?" he asked, a little pale.

"I'll…I don't know if I can explain just yet, Sirius," Harry said, "but I'll try in a moment."

He turned back to Kreacher.

"Kreacher…er…when you're feeling up to it, please sit up."

It took the elf a few minutes, but he finally raised himself into a sitting position.

"Kreacher, we need that locket. We know how to destroy it and we want to finish the work Master Regulus started. To make sure that he did not die in vain. Could you bring it to us, please?"

Kreacher nodded and walked a bit shakily to his cupboard. They heard him rummaging around.

"Okay Harry," Remus said, "Time for some answers."

"Right," Sirius agreed, "You show up, ask me about my brother, call our house elf and make him tell you my sordid family history. And shout at me…" Sirius smiled.

"Sorry 'bout that," Harry muttered, blushing, "but I needed answers, and we weren't going to get anywhere with you yelling at him."

"But what do you need answers for?" Remus asked.

"I…I think you need to talk to Dumbledore," Harry said, not knowing what to do.

By this time, Kreacher had returned with the locket. Ron was looking down at it with a strange expression.

"What's that noise coming from it?" Ron asked.

"What d'you mean?" Harry said.

"That noise," Ron told him, reaching for the locket, "Sounds like a heartbeat."

"Ron, don't touch it!"

But it was too late. Kreacher had already handed the locket to Ron, who was inspecting it. Harry waited for something terrible to happen but nothing did; aside from Ron continuing to assert that he heard a heartbeat coming from it. Ron put it on.

"What the hell Ron?" Harry asked, alarmed.

"Shouldn't we…" Ron trailed off, shaking his head as if to get rid of a gnat. He didn't continue…

"Ron?" Harry asked.

"Shouldn't we take it back to Dumbledore?" Ron asked slowly.

He definitely didn't look right.

"Take that thing off, Ron," Harry said quietly.

Ron did, and held it up to his ear.

"I can still hear the heartbeat…"

"Heartbeat or not," Harry told him, "We're going to destroy it. Now, I'm going to open it and you stab. Don't think about it, just stab it, alright? It's going to try and fight, so you have to do it right away."

"Okay," Ron nodded, "But how are you going to open it? We couldn't before, remember."

"I'm going to ask it to open in Parseltongue."

"Tell me when…"

"On three. One…two…three…_open_."

The last word was a hiss and the doors of the locket swung open. Eyes stood out in the mirrors. Ron raised the sword and they all heard a voice,

_"I have seen your heart, and it is mine."_

Sirius swore loudly.

"Don't listen to it, Ron," Harry said, "Stab it!"

_"Least loved, always, by the mother who craved a daughter…Second best, never needed…"_

A body formed from the windows of the locket. It was Harry, only a horrible sickening semi-likeness of him.

"Stab it Ron!" Harry shouted.

_"Your mother confessed," _sneered the Riddle-Harry, _"That she would have preferred me as a son, would be glad of the exchange…"_

Ron looked utterly horrified.

_"Who wouldn't? What have you ever done, compared to me? Who are you, compared with the Boy Who Lived? I could do so much better than you…"_

"God _**damn**_ it Ron!" Harry bellowed, "Stab it!"

The sword plunged. There was a _clink!_ of metal and a long, drawn out scream; and then a clatter as the sword dropped to the floor.

The locket had shattered. Ron dropped to his knees, and looked quite ill. Harry didn't care if he was about to be sick, though. He closed the space between them, and pulled Ron up into a fierce hug. He wanted to be comforting. He wanted to give a profound declaration of his undying love for the redhead. Instead, all that came out was a shaky,

"God, you're a prat sometimes."

Ron seemed to understand though. He chuckled weakly and wiped his eyes on the back of his hand.

"Alright, both of you," Remus said, "We're going to see Dumbledore. Now."

_**LbN: Send reviews, por favor! That's as much as I had written when I first started this one, but I think I'm going to go ahead and finish it :). Only a few chapters left...**_


	9. Problems

_**LbN: It's been so long since I worked on this that I lost the notebook I started it in :). No idea where it was going when I started, but I hope the new direction works for y'all...**_

Sirius sat quietly as Dumbledore explained the basics of what was going on. Every now and then, he'd glance at Harry and the group.

"He's going to go ballistic," Hermione muttered to Draco.

Draco was inclined to agree. His cousin didn't look happy at the fact that his godson was playing the hero. Again. At Dumbledore's request.

"Dumbledore, this has to stop!" Sirius yelped. Remus put a hand on his shoulder, but he continued. "This is too big for him! You can't…"

"I think we should leave," Hermione mumbled. "Come on Draco, Ron."

Ron looked over at Harry, who nodded.

"Go on," Harry said. "It's okay."

When they made it to the hallway, Hermione let out a breath she'd been holding. "I thought Sirius was going to strangle him."

"You think he'll talk Dumbledore out of anything?"

"Hell no."

* * *

Draco woke up suddenly. Looking at his watch, he saw that it was two in the morning. Something was wrong, seriously wrong. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and put his watch on. He was relieved to find the common room empty—he didn't fancy meeting any Gryffindors at the moment. He slipped out of the portrait hole and walked quietly down the corridor. He'd barely gone one meter when he had to dodge Tonks, who was patrolling that hallway. He made it down to the dungeons and saw what had triggered his heightened senses. "Death Eaters?" he whispered. He stood statue still as he listened to a snippet of conversation.

"That Nott boy did well. The Vanishing Cabinet idea was genius."

"Aye. Now we just gotta find the old man."

He pressed himself against the wall on the corner, trying to remember where he saw the last Auror. Second floor, but he didn't know if they'd still be there. He began to tiptoe back to the staircase when someone put a binding curse on him. Panicked, he felt himself being pulled into a hidden hallway. It was Blaise.

Blaise put a finger to his lips and unfroze Malfoy. "Have you lost your natural mind?" he hissed. "What are you doing wandering round the dungeons?"

"Something felt wrong," Draco whispered.

"So you come sneaking down here alone?"

They paused as they heard Death Eaters passing their hallway.

"You know where Dumbledore's office is?" one asked.

"No, Snape does. There he is now."

Draco felt Blaise hit him over the head to Disillusion him. Returning the favor, he grabbed hold of Blaise's cloak so he wouldn't lose his friend, and they followed the party of four and Professor Snape to Professor Dumbledore's office. Draco silently sent a Patronus to McGonagall as they tailed the Death Eaters. They just managed to slip into the Headmaster's office before one of the Death Eaters closed the door. They stood still as Snape's eyes passed over them

_Blaise?_ Draco thought.

_What?_

_What's he playing at?_

_I don't know. Snape knows we're here. He keeps glancing over here._

_Just stay still._

They didn't really have any choice, for at that moment, both of them were put under body binds. Draco watched as Dumbledore came down the stairs to face the group.

"Evening," the Headmaster said.

The rest of the Order burst through the door at that moment. There was chaos. Draco felt the body bind lift and he and Blaise were shoved roughly out of the door. Draco turned around fast enough to see a green jet of light hit Dumbledore square in the face. He froze, watching the Headmaster fall.

Blaise found his sleeve and pulled him down the stairs and through the halls. They made it to the 7th floor and ran into something invisible, but very solid.

"Ouch!"

"Ack!"

"Potter?"

"Zabini?"

"Shut up, you lot!" Ron hissed.

After a few moments of bumbling, they all made it into a small hallway and undid the spells, or in the trios case, took off the cloak.

"We found you gone," Harry said. "We were going to tell Tonks, but when we saw that she was gone too we figured something was up."

"Potter, have you lost your natural mind?" Draco hissed, echoing Blaise's question from earlier. "What the hell are you thinking, wandering round alone?"

"I'm not alone," Harry argued, nodding at Ron and Hermione.

"Not to halt what I'm sure would be an excellent argument," Blaise said. "But we really don't have time for this. We've got to get you out of here, Potter. Dumbledore's dead."

"What?" the trio asked, going pale.

"Death Eaters. Nott got them in."

"Not the point," Draco said. "Harry, you've got to leave."

"You can't expect me to just—"

"Harry, listen!" Draco said, grabbing his shoulders. "These. Are. Death Eaters. This isn't You-Know-Who, or Lucius, or Bellatrix. They're just thugs, like Crabbe and Goyle. They'll kill you. They know how powerful you are. They won't give you a chance to fight. No banter, no torture, no saving you for You-Know-Who. Get to McGonagall's office, and go to your godfather's house."

"There will be no need for that Mr. Malfoy," a soft voice said.

The group spun around, wands raised, but it was just McGonagall.

"We've taken care of the situation," she said. "Tonks and a few others are destroying the Vanishing Cabinet now. Mr. Zabini, you will be staying in Gryffindor Tower with Draco from now on. I will have the house elves bring your things up."

"Yes, Professor," he said, nodding.

"Professor," Harry said quietly. "Is it true?"

She lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry Potter." She turned and walked back down the hall.

They were all silent and still. Suddenly, Harry turned and punched the wall, then sank against Ron.

Hermione stepped closer to Draco and took his hand.

_**LbN: Send reviews! Btw, there's a new poll up on my profile. Peace out!**_


	10. Ravenclaw

**A Place for My Head**

The castle was quiet the next day. Parents were taking their kids away right, left, and center after finding out that the Headmaster had been killed at the school. Death Eaters getting in was the final straw. Draco walked slowly through the school next to Harry. "Are you sure about this?"

"We need to talk to McGonagall before every Ministry wizard and his auntie are knocking at her door." He lowered his voice despite the empty halls and continued. "Dumbledore said You-Know-Who wanted something of Ravenclaw's the night he came back to ask for a teaching position. We need to know what he could've Horcrux'd…"

Draco tapped lightly on McGonagall's office door. "Professor?" he called.

"Come in, boys," she said, opening the door for them. "Is there any trouble?"

"Oh, no Professor," Harry assured her. "Nothing else has happened. We just…we had a question for you. It's important."

"Go on…"

"Was there…anything Rowena Ravenclaw was known for? Any special items that were important to her?"

"This is an odd time to brush up on your Hogwarts History, Potter…"

"I know, Professor, but it's important. And there's nothing in Hogwarts: A History."

It was true. Draco had checked with Hermione.

"Her wand was her prized possession. That and her robe. Her wand was destroyed, and no one knows where the robe went."

"No one?" Harry and Draco asked in unison.

"It hasn't been seen in living memory," McGonagall said. She paused for a moment, and then continued, "Potter…if Dumbledore told you anything…"

"It's nothing, Professor. We'll just…be getting back to the common room."

Draco walked dejectedly next to Harry. They were halfway up the stairs when he stopped dead in his tracks.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Living memory…" Draco said pointedly.

"Yeah?"

"Want to go on a ghost scavenger hunt?"

* * *

It took them nearly an hour, in which time the entire Order and half of the Ministry had shown up, but they finally tracked down the Grey Lady. Harry stopped a ways off from her and hit Draco in the shoulder. "Not me."

"What? You're Harry bloody Potter," Draco said. "Why not?"

"I may be 'Harry bloody Potter' but you're the one who has a way with the ladies. And a way with words. Get to it."

Draco was torn between self-satisfaction and annoyance. Deciding not to reply, he made his was over to the ghost, who was seated in an alcove next to the window.

"I know you," she said. "You're the Malfoy boy. The Slytherin turned Gryffindor."

"Oh, I've always thought I was more of a Ravenclaw. Probably was my arrogance about my brilliance that landed me in Slytherin, though, so I guess it fits." Malfoy said, chuckling.

"And what could you possibly need from a Ravenclaw ghost? You know, of course, that my house has always, and will always, admit students of different blood statuses."

"I'm dating a Gryffindor who's Muggle born," Draco said. "D'you think I care about all of that?" He gazed around the hall for a moment, as if trying to imprint that one part of Hogwarts on his memory for eternity. "I just care about keeping my girlfriend safe from my psycho father and aunt, and I care about this school. It's my home now."

"And again I ask, what do you want of me?"

"I have a question…it's about a student. He was a Slytherin, like me, but the bad type."

"I have an idea where this is going…"

"We think he wanted your cloak."

"My mother's, you mean."

"Er…really?"

"Indeed."

"So…um…it's really important that we know if…if he knew where it went."

"You mustn't think less of me…he was a very charming boy. Not unlike you." She looked back out of the window and over the grounds. "I shan't endeavor to give you the details of what he told me—most of it was lies anyway." She paused and smiled at him. "You wonder why I gave in if it was lies?"

"You've no need to explain yourself," Draco said. "Sometimes our actions have layers of meaning, as well as layered consequences, even if we don't know it at the time."

"Maybe you _are _a Ravenclaw…" she said. "Yes, I suppose. But it was, as I said, my mother's cloak, and I wanted to spite her. So I told him where to find it. I don't know what he did, but I know that he brought it here—to the school."

"What?"

"He had it with him the night he asked Professor Dumbledore for a job. It was hanging from his bag a bit—I'd recognize it anywhere. As far as I know, it hasn't left the castle."

That made no sense, but the look she was giving him said she was done talking. "Er…right. Thank you."

"You're welcome. And tell your friend Potter that he should try a better hiding place next time…"

Draco grinned. "Will do." When he rounded the corner he found Harry. "You hear all that?"

"Yeah. I don't get it. How can no one know where it is if it's hidden in the castle?"

"Dunno. Maybe he disguised it as one of the draperies?"

They made it back up to Gryffindor tower and filled the other three in. since it was the first Blaise had heard about the Horcruxes, he was naturally the most excited of the bunch. Hermione, on the other hand, was silent.

Draco leaned over and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I think I know where the cloak is."

All eyes turned to her.

"Well, why haven't you said anything?" Ron asked.

"Because the location isn't the problem—_that _was rather obvious in fact. It's getting in that I've been thinking about." At their blank stares, she explained, "It's in the Room of Requirement."

* * *

It took them a full 45 minutes to get there, because they had to keep dodging Order members since the Invisibility Cloak wouldn't fit over the five of them, and they didn't want to explain the sword to anyone. They'd decided that all of them should go, since the object they were defeating was large and blanket-like. There would be reinforcements in case it decided to wrap itself around someone.

Harry had been standing in front of the wall without anything happening for about five minutes before Hermione finally asked, "What have you tried?"

"Everything," Harry said, nettled.

Hermione had a feeling that he was dancing around what they really needed. "We need a place to hide something," she said.

The door appeared. Without a word, they went inside. Everything you could possibly imagine was in front of them. The room was a confused jumble of contraband. It reminded Hermione of the 3Ws, though not as bright.

"I wish it was organized by…category," she said. The room obliged. She led the way over to the large assortment of clothes.

"Can we just chop all the cloaks in half and be done with it?" Ron asked, brandishing the sword.

"The real one can't be all that hard to find," Blaise muttered. "Spare the innocents, and all that," he said with a grin.

Careful not to actually touch any of cloaks, they sifted through them using the sword and other things they found in the room. After about 30 minutes, Hermione stopped for a break. They weren't getting anywhere. She was starting to think Ron had a point with his random hacking idea. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a few robes draped over model figures. "Hey, I think I found it," she said, going towards the one in the middle. It was bright blue with golden patterns stitched into it. The collar was silver, with designs going down the sleeves. "It's gorgeous."

"Hermione," Draco said softly. "Don't…get away from it."

"It's fine…I don't think this is it actually. Too beautiful." She grabbed it off the hanger and made as if to try it on, but Draco grabbed her round the waist and it dropped to the floor.

"Whoa! No way. That's it all right," he muttered to Blaise. "You okay?" he asked Hermione.

"Fine. I'm fine. Look are you sure—"

"Listen," Draco said firmly. "I have a photographic memory and a bank account to rival Potters—I'll have one made for you."

Ron passed the sword forward to Blaise who slashed through the cloak. A strange humming and creaking sound filled their ears. The robe was bleeding.

Harry stuffed it into a trunk full of old maps and bowling balls. "Only one left…" he said.

"I feel funny," Hermione groaned.

"Post-Horcux Destroying Depression," Ron said knowledgeably. "Come on, let's go see if the house elves will give us cakes and tea."

_**LbN: Hope you liked it! Send reviews! And there's a new poll up on my profile if you haven't voted yet. :)**_


	11. Fred and George's Station

_**LbN: Almost done! Happy reading!**_

"So what's left then?" Blaise asked as they ate their sandwiches and cakes.

"Shhhh," Draco said. Then, looking at Blaise, he thought, _Just the snake._

"Er…what was that?" Ron asked, seeing the silent exchange between the Slytherins.

"We can talk without talking," Blaise explained.

"That's useful," Hermione said. "We should've learned—"

Whatever she was going to say was drowned out by raised voices. One was Seamus's and the other was Neville's. Both were in heated discussions with their respective guardians about staying at Hogwarts. It turned out that the arguments were pointless however, because at that moment, the ground began to rumble.

"What the hell was that?" Blaise asked. He ran to the windows, vaulting over the nearly empty tables to get there. "Shit! Giants!" he called. "And Dementors! We're under attack!"

Everyone stood, wands at the ready. Draco was about to suggest they split up, as they were kind of sitting ducks in the Great Hall, when he saw Harry shaking out of the corner of his eye. "Potter? What's the matter—Harry?" He caught The Boy Who Lived as he swayed.

A voice filled the hall then. "Do you want this, Harry? Do you want them to die for you?"

"Ahhh!" Harry yelled, sinking to his knees.

Ron held him, Sirius kneeled beside him, and Draco looked out the windows, trying to figure out where You-Know-Who was lurking.

"I will kill them—one by one—if you do not turn yourself over to me. My Death Eaters will enter the castle in five minutes. If you fight, you will die."

Harry gave one last yelp of pain before going limp.

Draco quickly poured a glass of pumpkin juice and gave it to him. "Easy."

"What should we do?" Hermione asked Sirius.

"We're going to get you out," Sirius said. "Tonks! Let's take them to Fred and George."

"Have you gone round the twist?" Draco asked. "We've got to—"

"Get to safety," Sirius snapped. "Especially you and Hermione. Harry might be safe for the battle until You-Know-Who gets here (and I'm not even going to chance that), but they'll kill the pair of you on sight. Let's move."

"Ginny," Molly Weasley said. "You go too. You're too young to fight."

"Mum!"

"Come on," Tonks told her.

They followed him and Tonks up the stairs, the doors to the school rattled and creaked. Ron, still carrying Gryffindor's sword, turned at the loud bang that signaled the Death Eaters' arrival. He and Draco were the first to the railing to see the chaos beneath.

"We can't stop," Sirius said urgently.

"Harry, the snake!" Blaise said. "It's about to get Longbottom!"

"We have to kill it," Hermione told Sirius. "You remember what Dumbledore said."

"Tonks," Sirius said, "Keep them moving." He transformed then, taking the hilt of the sword in his mouth and running down the stairs.

Draco didn't move from the rail, nor did any of the others. He watched as Sirius slashed at the backs of Death Eaters' knees and finally slid the sword near where Neville was dodging the snake. He watched as Sirius ran over and bit the snake on its tail, distracting it enough to give Neville time to slice off its head. A cheer went up from the Order and the Army.

"Let's move," Tonks said, finally managing to pull Draco along. She took them to one of the hallways that hid behind a tapestry, and tapped a few bricks with her wand. A doorway appeared, and Fred opened it.

"Thought you'd never come to see us," he whispered with a grin. "Come on, in you get."

When they stepped through, Draco's eyes were offended at the sight of such contrasting vivid colors. "Bloody hell!"

"Part of the effect," George said. "Now, we can't all walk on one path. It won't hold us. Harry, Ron and Ginny can come with me. Hermione, you and Draco go with Fred. Tonks, are you going back?"

"Absolutely not!" Ginny all but shouted. "If I'm not fighting—"

"Ginny, I have to fight," Tonks said. "I promise to be careful, but I have to go back."

"And we have to get moving," Fred said. "Follow me."

Draco took Hermione's hand and they followed Fred down path number two. He was careful to stay directly behind the redhead after falling into some rainbow-colored goop on the side of the path. Everything was insane here. He'd reached out to touch something once, and it had almost swallowed him whole! Thankfully Fred had lightning fast reflexes…

"So this is what you were up to all year," Hermione said in awe.

"We were on guard at the other side—where I'm taking you now. We built all of the booby traps, and charmed them so they're all rainbow colored. It's not just to look pretty," Fred said, seeing Draco roll his eyes. "The shades make everything blend together. Look over there," he pointed to their right. "You can't tell what anything is. Everything here is always moving and changing. That's why Dumbledore told you all that you'd be crazy to try and sneak in or out. We have these at all the normal entrances as well, just…toned down a bit."

"Then how'd the Order and Dumbledore's Army get in?" Draco asked, dodging a sinister looking rainbow flower.

"They had instructions on how to get in."

"How'd the Death Eaters get in?"

"They had You-Know-Who."

The three of them walked in silence for a while. Fred led them through rainbow tunnels, up rainbow hills, and down rainbow slides. Draco was beginning to suspect that the point of this place wasn't that you'd get eaten by a giant rainbow pineapple if you snuck in, but that it was bigger on the inside than on the outside, and you'd be lost for days before making it halfway through. Finally, Fred stopped. Draco nearly bumped into him, but slipped into the goop again instead. After he got himself unstuck he looked back at the older Weasley, who now looked very grim indeed.

"We're going out now. We're not on Hogwarts grounds anymore, but we are in the Forbidden Forest. Keep your eyes open and your mouths shut. We had an all clear the last time we checked, but that was an hour ago. We're going to Hogsmeade—to Aberforth's place. We'll be able to Apparate from there. Understand?"

Hermione and Draco both nodded, and Draco squeezed Hermione's hand gently. "Ready?" he asked, and she nodded.

Fred cast a spell as they stood at the exit, still hidden. "There's someone out there,  
he muttered. He waited, looking through the spy hole for a few minutes. "Just one of the Centaurs. They're on our side, let's go."

They walked out into the cool air and Fred closed the passageway behind them. Suddenly, Draco felt himself go flying into a tree. A second later, he was tied to it. He closed his eyes against a flash of green light, and when he opened them, Fred Weasley was lying dead at his feet.

_**LbN: Hope you liked it! Send reviews! Also, there's still a little time to vote on which fandom I'm adopting :). The poll's on my profile!**_


	12. Lucius's Revenge

**A Place for My Head**

Draco barely had time to struggle before he was released from his bonds. He looked around wildly for Hermione, but couldn't see her.

"Looking for this?"

He whipped around and saw Lucius holding up an unconscious Hermione. "What are you…?"

"You didn't seriously think that I would rot in that disgusting place?" Lucius asked. "Did you really believe that I had gone away for good?"

"No." Draco winced as his father let Hermione fall to the ground. He moved as though to go to her, but Lucius had his wand on him again.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He pointed his wand at Hermione. "So…whom shall I kill first? My mudblood loving son, or this?" He kicked Hermione.

"Don't!" Draco shouted. He was blasted off his feet and collided with a tree. Dizzy, he struggled to his knees. He felt himself being dragged to his feet, and his wand being pressed into his hands.

"Don't be a coward son. Fight back a little. You had to have seen that coming."

"I'm the coward?" Draco asked, sending a hex at him. He was knocked off his feet again a second later. He lay face up as a chill came over him. He recognized it—a Dementor was coming. He struggled to a sitting position, trying to think of a happy memory, but he couldn't.

* * *

"_Where's Father?" Draco asked as Narcissa led him into the kitchen._

"_He had to work," she said dismissively. "Look at what I had the house elves make for you."_

_Draco's eyes lit up when he saw the small cake with blue frosting on the table. He counted the eight candles on his cake._

"_Make a wish!" Narcissa said._

_Draco closed his eyes and thought hard before blowing out his candles. Looking up at his mom, he was surprised to see she looked solemn. "Mother? Ahhck!" He looked up, eyes streaming, into the face of his father._

_Lucius, still maintaining a tight hold on Draco's hair, snarled at Narcissa. "Why do you fill his head with such foolish things?" He pulled Draco out of the chair, and with a flick of his wand sent the cake flying to the floor. _

_That was the last time Draco wished for his father._

* * *

Draco tried to drown out the awful memories. He tried to concentrate on the good things that had happened in the past year. He was finding it exceedingly difficult…

* * *

_Draco tried to ignore his parents' voices. They'd been shouting for a while now, but he was trying to study. Unable to take it anymore, he slammed his book shut and marched down to the library, ready to respectfully request that the shut the hell up. He wished he could slam the door, but Lucius had already taken that off the ever shrinking list of things he could do. When he got to the library, he walked in just in time to see Lucius strike Narcissa across the face. "Father!" he yelled. "What do you think you're doing? AHHH!" he held his head. In the heat of the moment, he'd forgotten about the spell and questioned his father's actions. He held his hands up in the "I surrender" gesture and the pain stopped. Breathing hard, he went over to where his mother was sitting and helped her up. _

"_Leave her!" Lucius hissed._

_Draco stood between them as his mother straightened herself. "I'm studying. I could hear you upstairs. I would appreciate it if you discussed things more calmly. Your arguments are going to wake the dead."_

_Lucius slapped him across the face._

_Forgetting everything, Draco pushed him. The pain was worse than anything he'd ever felt. He swayed, and then sank to his knees. He saw, through watery eyes, his father walking away. Lucius was going to leave him like this. _

* * *

Draco was shaking all over. The Dementor had floated away toward Hermione. "No." He thought hard—there had to be something. As he looked over at Hermione's pale face, it came to him.

* * *

_"Ah, my son," Lucius laughed, "You're still the same. Here I was thinking you'd know how to behave in my absence. But I see that you're still as disobedient as ever."_

_They locked eyes for about two seconds and then cried as one,_

_"__**Ambitio!**__"_

_Draco thought hard. He called up every memory he had with Hermione, willing his father to accept it. After a few moments of this, something glorious happened. Draco mind cleared, his body relaxed. He knew the spell had been lifted. He was finally completely free._

* * *

"_Expecto Patronum!_" Draco shouted. His silver dragon chased the Dementor off, but Draco didn't have time to celebrate.

"_Malefusum!"_ Lucius hissed, pointing his wand at Hermione.

Draco knocked into him with all his strength and Lucius went sprawling onto the ground. He rushed over to Hermione, who appeared to be having some sort of fit. "What've you done to her?"

"It's…an old curse," Lucius chuckled. "Don't bother pointing that wand at me, either. There's no counter curse for it."

"Hermione," Draco said, placing a hand on her arm. She was freezing. "What's happening?"

"Right now? Her organs are thinning. Wait another minute and her flesh will start to boil."

"Take it off of her!" Draco shouted.

"I told you, I can't. She won't die from this. Not quickly anyway. The longest a person has ever held out against this spell is about three days. Then they die from exhaustion. The only thing you can do…" Lucius chuckled again. "The only thing you can do is put her out of her misery."

Dracos sat there stunned for a moment. "There has to be a counter curse," he said to himself. "There has to be something."

"There isn't. Do you wish me to do it for you? Do you not have the courage to end your mudblood girlfriend's suffering?"

"I will end it," Draco said. He closed his eyes. "_Avada Kedavra!"_

_**LbN: Uh-oh! A cliffie! I'm sorry, but I'm hungry and have to go make dinner. I'll put the next chapter up soon :). Send reviews!!!**  
_


	13. The End of the War

_**LbN: Well, at least I'm a creative insomniac :). Happy reading! This is the last full chapter, but there will be an epilogue of sorts.**_

Hermione gasped and opened her eyes. Her skin was tingling, her heart racing. She felt someone help her into a sitting position. "Draco," she gasped. "What—?" She trailed off, shaking. Burying her head into his shoulder, she whispered, "I'm tired. And dizzy."

"It's going to take some time for the effects to wear off," he said, glancing over to where Lucius's body lay. "We need to get you somewhere safe, where you can rest."

"We need to find Harry and the others," Hermione said, trying to stand.

Draco caught her as she swayed. "You can barely walk."

"What about Fred?" Hermione asked. "We can't just leave him here." She looked around, spotting Lucius. "Draco…"

"I had to. You would've stayed in that spell, and if I hadn't killed him, he would've killed you. After watching you suffer, of course." Draco carried her bride style and set her near a tree. He blasted the branches off of a nearby tree and quickly conjured a coffin out of the excess wood. Gently, he lifted Fred into it, opened the secret passage again, and pushed the coffin inside. "He'll be safe there," he told Hermione. "Let's get you to the Hog's Head." He glanced back at the trees and frosted them so he'd be able to find them again.

* * *

"You can't seriously be thinking of—" Hermione started, sitting up in bed.

"I have to go back. There's a battle going on, and Merlin knows what trouble Potter and Weasley have gotten into." Draco was stowing his wand up his sleeve when there was a commotion in the passage. He turned to see two people struggling to carry someone. It was Neville and…

"Pansy!" Draco exclaimed. "What in the name of—"

"Shut up and help," she said, depositing Blaise on the floor next to Hermione's bed.

Draco retched when he saw his friend. "What happened to him?"

"Greyback happened to him," Neville said. "No teeth, just claws."

Draco tore the bloody shirt off his best friend and did his best not to throw up. He raised his wand to heal Blaise, but Pansy stopped him. "What are you doing?"

"Werewolf scratches need medicine, not the wand." She summoned a few bottles from the cabinets. "I'll look after him. You two get back."

"I'm missing something vital here," Hermione said, looking from Blaise to Pansy.

"You're all so freaking dense," Pansy said. "I'm a spy. And saving Blaise's ass will cost me my own if I go back. So, get going, and I'll take care of Blaise. And Granger," she told Draco.

"I'm going with you," Hermione said.

"You're daft Granger," Pansy said.

"I'm fine. And I want to fight."

"I must be out of my mind," Draco muttered. "Let's go then." He held out a hand to her, pleased to see that she was steady on her feet again. They went silently through the passage, and into Hogwarts. They could hear noises below them, but not battle noises.

"What's happened?" Hermione asked.

"Don't know. Wand out."

Downstairs, they found that, indeed, there was no battle going on. Instead, the Order, Dumbledore's Army, and some of the Centaurs were all in the Great Hall. The wounded were being tended to, and the dead were being covered.

"It's over?" Draco asked quietly.

"Wotcher, cousin," Tonks said, walking in behind them. She had a bandage around her upper arm and was carrying a basket of ointments and bandages.

"What happened?"

"Harry," Tonks said. "And…Remus and Sirius." She nodded toward a far table where Harry was standing alone. On the table in front of him were the bodies of their late professor and Harry's late godfather.

"Harry was fighting Voldemort. He told them not to interfere, but…" Tonks broke off, obviously trying not to cry. "Harry was hurt. Sirius wouldn't stand there and watch him get killed. I've got to get these to Madame Pomfrey."

"Where's Ron?" Hermione asked.

"Looking after Ginny. She was hurt. Not badly, but…" she stopped and walked off to deliver the supplies.

"We have to tell them about Fred," Draco said under his breath.

"Maybe we should tell Arthur first."

Draco nodded and they made their way to where Ginny was lying on a cot, her family around her. "Er…Mr. Weasley," Draco said quietly. "Could I have a word?"

"I suppose."

They walked to the doors of the Great Hall. Draco didn't know how to tell him. "I…I'm sorry," he stammered.

"It's Fred, isn't it?" Mr. Weasley asked in a hollow voice.

Draco nodded. "We were caught by surprise. There was nothing I could do."

Mr. Weasley put a hand on Draco's shoulder. "Take me to him."

* * *

It was a sleepless night. Half of them were in the hospital wing, and half were in the Gryffindor tower. Draco sat up in bed and walked to the window. He stared out over the lake.

"Draco, have you slept at all?" Hermione asked quietly as not to wake the others.

"No," he said.

"You did what you had to," Hermione said, walking over to where he stood.

"I know. I don't have any remorse for what I did—that's what's bothering me. I'm glad it's over."

The portrait hole opened and McGonagall came through. "Mr. Malfoy, just the person I was looking for. The Minister is here. He wishes to speak with you over breakfast."

"Right then."

Draco dressed quickly and found that the Minister was the only person in the Great Hall, with the exceptions of the Order. He sat quietly across from the Minister. "Morning."

"Good morning, Draco," the Minister said coolly. "I hope you'll forgive me, but we have some business to discuss."

The first thing Draco noticed was the fact that the Minister didn't sound sorry at all. To stall for time, he looked away and yawned, ruffling his blonde hair. He resisted the urge to sigh in relief when Kingsley came over. Apparently the Auror had picked up on Draco's nervousness. "Well, what's on your mind?" he asked.

"Perhaps Mr. Shaklebolt would be so kind as to—"

"I know you mean well, Minister," Kingsley said. "But it's been a very trying few days, and I'm sure Draco would like some company in whatever matter you're discussing."

"Your father was killed in battle last night," the Minister started. He stopped when Draco flinched. "There was a post-mortem conviction on him and Mrs. Lestrange. When reviewing both wills, it seems you have inherited both estates."

Kingsley slapped Draco on the back as he choked on his toast. "What?" Draco asked.

"You have inherited both Mrs. Lestrange's fortune and your father's fortune and house. Since you are the owner of these estates, you will need to be present when the Ministry seizes assets."

"Seizes assets?" Draco said, still not quite able to wrap his mind around owning so much.

"Payment, you see. For the victims' families. Also, we'll be seizing any Dark materials, so you'll have to show us where they're kept."

"What if I don't know?" Draco asked.

"Then you'll help us find them. We'll be at Malfoy Manor tomorrow—"

"You're rather quick on this," Kingsley said. "He's been through an ordeal. Couldn't you give him a week before you begin ripping his home apart?"

"The matter of wills and inheritance is important," the Minister said.

"And are you talking to Potter about Sirius's will?" Kingsley snapped.

"Well…no…"

"Of course not. You're giving him a chance to breathe. You can show the same courtesy to Mister Malfoy. Draco, I'll have the house elves send up some food, if you want to get back to the dormitory."

"Thank you, Kingsley." Draco all but ran out of the Great Hall and up the stairs. "Hermione?" he said, barely entering the common room. "Care for a walk?"

"Sure."

When she'd joined him outside of the common room, he hugged her and took her hand.

"What did the Minister want?" she asked.

"To punish me for my father's, and aunt's, crimes," Draco said. "I've just inherited Malfoy Manor and the Lestrange fortune."

"What do you mean, 'punish'?"

"I'm going to have to pay restitutions. I'm going to have to let them tear my home apart. It's not that I'm against it…" He paused for a moment, considering his next words. "Kingsley stopped them from hounding me too bad. I'm not Potter, and I'm a Malfoy. They don't care about giving me time to recover. They're not going to show me any respect."

"Look at me," Hermione said. "They will show you respect, because you're going to command it. You fought on our side, and even though you have to give up your things, they will be respectful." She hugged him tightly. "We don't have to worry about this today. We'll deal with it when the time arrives."

Draco nodded and hugged her back. "Let's finish our walk. Ginny and Blaise should be awake in a while. We'll go visit them."

_**LbN: Hope you liked it! Send reviews, por favor!**_


	14. Epilogue

_**LbN: Thanks for reading, everyone! Hope you liked it!**_

Draco was a bit indignant at the fact that he had to creep through his own house. Hermione had, graciously, distracted the Ministry team so he could have a moment. All he wanted was a few minutes to himself to have a drink and calm down. He went into what used to be his father's study and poured himself a glass of Firewhiskey. It was getting late, and he was hungry. Steeling his resolve, he drained the rest of his drink and went back downstairs. "Gentlemen," he said. "Perhaps we could continue this tomorrow."

"We still have work to do," the team leader grumbled without looking at him.

"Indeed, but it's late, and I'm not willing to let you roam about my house while I'm having supper with my girlfriend."

The Ministry wizard glared at him and stood up. He nodded and brushed past the table, knocking a wooden keepsake box off the table. Without picking it up or looking back, he strode from the room.

Draco heard him rounding up his colleagues as he bent down to pick up the box. Some papers and a ring had fallen out of it. Glancing behind him to make sure none of the repo-squad was lurking in the doorway, he gathered the letters and set the box back on the desk. He examined the ring as he sat down in the chair by the fire. The stone was garnet, with an onyx "M" in the middle of it. It had been his grandfather's, and he'd seen his father wear it on a few occasions. Looking at the papers, he found two blackmail letters (which he promptly burned so the Ministry couldn't fine him for them), and the letter of ownership from his grandfather. The realization that he was the head of the Malfoy line hit him again, but not as hard as before. Somehow, the ring—and being a Malfoy—didn't feel so sinister anymore. He smiled and put it back in the box before going to find Hermione. He felt the bad memories and tension wash away. He was the new master of the house, and his life was finally his own.

_**Fin**_

_**I wanna be in another place **_

_**I hate when you say you don't understand.**_

_**I wanna be in the energy,**_

_**Not with the enemy,**_

_**A place for my head.**_


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